Pressure lubricating system



P. SKILLMAN PRESSURE LUBRICATING SYSTEM Aug. 18, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 18, 1950 Paul Slrz'llman Aug. 18, 1953 P. SKILLMAN PRESSURE LUBRICATING SYSTEM 2 Sheets- Sheet 2 Filed May 18, 1950 Snvcntor Paul S/cz'ZZman Ottomegs Patented Aug. 18, 1953 PRESSURE LUBRICATING SYSTEM Paul Skillman, New Kensington, Pa., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Blaw-Knox Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application May 18, 1950, Serial No. 162,668

3 Claims.

This invention is for a pressure lubricating or cooling system especially designed for use with lubricated stumng boxes, particularly stuffing boxes which are subjected to high pressures.

The invention will be hereinafter described in connection with the lubrication of the stuffing box of an autoclave, but it will be understood that this is by way of illustration, and that the invention is applicable to other uses and to stuffing boxes in other equipment.

As shown in Patent No. 2,398,944 to George E. Kopetz, granted April 23, 1946, it has heretofore been proposed to provide an autoclave with an agitator therein, and to have two stufling boxes around the agitator shaft, there being an inner stuffing box and an outer one. Lubricant under pressure is supplied to a chamber between the two stufiiing boxes and is maintained at a predetermined amount somewhat higher than the pressure in the autoclave. box between the lubricant chamber and the autoclave is therefore subject to the diiferential pressure between the pressure in the autoclave and the pressure of the lubricant. The outer stufiing box is subjected to the differential pressure between the oil in the said chamber and atmospheric pressure.

In a copending application of James R. Shields, Serial No. 162,648, filed May 18, 1950, the outer stufling box is disclosed as being a multi-stage packing, and provision is made for maintaining a predetermined pressure drop across each of the several stages of the outer stuffing box so as to apportion the drop in pressure more or less equally among the several stages.

Autoclave operations are frequently batch operations in which material is first introduced into the autoclave at atmospheric or relatively low pressure. As the operation proceeds, the pressure will gradually increase, perhaps over a period of several hours, to a maximum pressure which may be of an order in excess of 1,000 pounds per square inch. This pressure may be maintained for a period of several hours, and then the autoclave will be several hours in cooling down, during which time there may be gradual diminishing of the pressure.

Under these conditions of operation it will be seen that if oil is initially applied to the stuffing box at the maximum pressure of 1,000 pounds per square inch or more, there Will be a considerable period of time when the differential between the oil pressure and the pressure in the autoclave is extremely high, tending to break down the packing in the inner stufiing box.

The inner stuffing Again when the autoclave is cooling an and the pressure in the autoclave begins to drop substantially below the oil pressure, there would be a considerable time where the differential pressure between the oil and the pressure in the autoclave would be quite substantial.

Therefore it is desirable that the pressure of the lubricant be maintained at a relatively constant value above the autoclave pressure and that the pressure of the lubricating oil be increased as the pressure in the autoclave increases, and be decreased as the pressure inthe autoclave decreases, so as to maintain a substantially constant safe pressure differential across the inner of the two stufling boxes.

The present invention has for its object to provide a system which will thus constantly maintain a substiantally uniform predetermined differential of the lubricating pressure above the pressure in the autoclave or other vessel notwithstanding changes of pressure in the autoclave or fluctuations of pressure.

A further object of the invention is to provide a relatively simple, trouble-free system wherein this may be accomplished.

The invention is especially applicable for use in connection with a system as disclosed in the aforesaid Shields application, wherein there is a controlled pressure drop across the outer stage multi-stuffing box from a pressure above the pressure in the autoclave to atmospheric pressure.

According to the presentinvention, a circulating system is provided for forcing the oil, or lubricant, or cooling fluid, through the stufling box continuously, a closed circulating system being provided. This system as shown includes a constant speed variable displacement pump. A servo-motor mechanism is provided for varying the displacement of the pump, and there is a control apparatus responsive on the one hand to the pressure in the autoclave, and on the other to lubricant pressure for operating such servomotor mechanism. The system thus responds to increase or decrease the output of the pump to maintain a substantially constant difierential between the autoclave pressure and the oil pressure.

My invention may be more fully understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in

which:

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an autoclave or other pressure apparatus equipped with my in-' Fig. 2 is a somewhat schematic view illustrating a type of differential pressure controller useful in the system, and which in turn operates an air motor for changing the output of the In the drawings, 2 designates the body of the autoclave having a cover 3, the cover 3 having a nozzle or receptacle 4 .through which passes a drive shaft '5 for turning an agitator (not shown) inside the autoclave. There is a stufiing box 6 in the lower portion of the nozzle or receptacle- 4 through which the shaft passeaandprovision is made for introducing oil into a chamber 1 above this stuffing box by meansof-a-nippl'e 8'.

Within the cylindrical shell '9 at the topof'thenozzle is another stufiing box which maybe of the type disclosed in the aforesaid 'shiflldsrape plication, this being a multi-stage stufiing box. It is indicated in dotted lines at IU, and'tlie' arrangement is such that oil under pressure entering through the nipple S 'may flow into the chamher. i, thence up through lubricating passages in the stuffing box 410, .theoil or cooling lubricant being discharged at a nipple II at the top of the outer :stuffing box.

The construction and arrangement of the autoclave andistufing boxes per se constitutes no part ofzthepresentinvention, and such parts are therefore only schematically illustrated.

As previously. indicated, the purpose of the presentinvention isto provide a system of supplying. lubricant to the chamber 7 and to maintain. thislubricant at a predetermined pressure above the pressure in the autoclave, notwithstanding changes. or fluctuations in pressure in the autoclave. For supplying lubricant to the stuffing-box, I. may use a variable displacement highpressure pump, as for. example a diesel fuel injection pump, which is schematically illustlzatedza't 12. The details of the pump itself conastute no part of the present invention, but one pump suitable for the purpose is made by the American Bosch Corporation, and isdesignated by that. company as its Ty e APE ump, and is illustrated in the bulletin published by that company:marked"fForm #3124 LKi-I. This pump is driven by a: motor :13. It is provided with a variable loutput control .rod: L4, projecting from one endlthereof, so that by moving the rod'in or out, the displacement of the pump may be changed to increase or decrease the output of the pump. According to the present invention, a servomotor means, such as a diaphragm air motor I5,

is attached. to the rod Hi, this air motor being of av chargesgf-rom the nipple H into pipe H, from whenceitflowsin the direction indicated by the arrows toan oil cooler it which may beany stuta'ble' heat: exchange, device, and. thence through. pipe L9.- to oil reservoir 21!: From oil reservoir 20, a pipe 2! leads to an oil filter 22,-and

thence throughpipe 23 to the intake side of the pump 42-. The discharge side of the pump is also connected through pipe 24 to a pressure-relief valve 25, and a pump pressure-gauge 26. The relief valve'25" is set to open at a predetermined maximum pressure and dischargeor bypass fluid to pipe l l eonneeted to the low pressure fluid -re- 4 turn line ll. An outwardly-opening check valve I50. is indicated in the line It.

At 27 there is indicated diagrammatically in Fig. l a differential pressure controller. This differential pressure controller has a nipple 28 connected to a line 29 which is connected to the pipe 18 adjacent the stufiing box of the autoclave. The differential pressure controller has a second nipple 30 connected through line 3! with a connection 32 leading to the interior of the autoclave, and 33 is a gauge that shows the autoclave pressure. reason of these connections, the differential pressure controller to be hereinafter more fully described, is made responsive to the a-utocl'aye pressuro on the one hand, and the oil supply pressure to the stuffing box on the other. The differential pressure controller operates through an air line 24, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1-, to vary the pressure on the diaphragm of the diaphragm air motor, and designates an air supply line to the differential pressure controller, 35: being connected with a. source of constant pressure air. 35 indicates a pressure responsive switch for operating an alarm 31 in the event. of failure of air pressure in the line 35.

The .difterential pressure controller 2'1- schematically illustrated in Fig. l operates on a principle that. is known to theart. In Fig. 2 I have illustrated more or less schematically the construction of such a differential pressure controller, and in this view 28. and 31.9 correspond to the nipples 2.8. and (it .of- Fig. 1,23 being the oil pressure. to the stuiiing box, and 30- .being the autoclave pressure. Within the housing of the instru.-. ent there are tWo:1Bourdon coils 40 and ,41, til beingresponsive to theoil pressure connected to the nipple 2.9., and 44 being responsive to the autoclave pressure communicated throu h h n pple .35. The arrows adjacent. these coils .indieatethe direction of displacement as pressure increases in; the Bourdon tubes. The coils. are operati-vely-connected through linkages ill and M to. osite endsof the bar s2, and the other end of: t s linkis-ccnnected by a link 43 to a lever is havinga flap orvane 45. at one end and having aiixed fulcrum is at its other end.

Above the vane 45 is a nozzle M arranged to proiectia jet of air against the vane 45. Air from the constant pressure source is supplied to the nozale through pipe '35, and? designates an oriflee-through the flow of air from the pipe 3.5 tothev nozzle chamber A is controlled; The nOZZleoha-mber {3 within the nozzle 1 communicatesthrough a branch pipe 48 "with the line 3-4 leading to the diaphragmair-motor.

Thearrangernent. thus is such that air is continuouslydischargedfrom the nozzle against the flap orzvane-ll, and as long as the flap-or vane remains in the same position, theimpedance to the jet of air from thanozzle is not changed, and the pressure line 34 remains constant. If pressures increase [in the Bourdon tubes 49 and il equally, the differential bar 432 simply pivots about the end of the and no .changein the position of the flap or. vanetakes ,p-lace. If, however, the tubes- 40 .anclLlll are subjected to different pressures and therefore expanded differently, the differential will.,raise or. lower the position ,of. the vaneF, thereby changing the impedance to the discharge of'the jet of ,air from thenozzle 51. This will re.- fiect itself in a changeof .pressurein the line, causingthe diaphragm air ,motor to actuate the rod d her by change the. displacement of th p m The arrangement is such thatif the autoclave pressure-increases, the diaphragm air motor will be operated to increase the displacement of the pump until a predetermined differential is again established.

In using the word lubricant, I include any sealing liquid or coolant suitable for circulation under pressure through stufiing boxes, and without limitation to oils having high lubricating properties. In chemical processes, not infrequently such oils may not be used, and the sealing fluid must be a liquid which is a poor lubricant in the ordinary sense, but adequate for such special application.

My invention therefore provides in a lubricating system, subject to wide "pressure variations, an arrangement whereby the lubricating pressure is built up as a controlling pressure is built up, and diminishes as a controlling pressure is diminished, with a substantially constant diflerential being maintained. It provides particularly in a stuffing box system having inner and outer stufiing boxes, an arrangement whereby a substantially constant differential pressure may be maintained across the inner stuffing box notwithstanding that wide variations of pressure on the inner side of the stufiing box will occur.

In the diagram I have shown and described one particular form of controller for the air motor, but it will be understood that various difierential pressure controllers, both fluidfpressure and electric, are known or may be provided, and my invention is not to be understood as being limited to any particular construction or type of differential pressure controller unit; and that various other variable pressure sources may be used in lieu of the specific oil pump referred to.

It will also be understood that various other changes and modifications may be made in the invention, and that alteration in the connections may be made according to the requirements of a particular piece of apparatus, and that the invention is not restricted to use with stuifing boxes of autoclaves, but may find application to various other stuifing boxes or to other instances where controlled diiferential of the lubricant pressure to a piece of equipment is desirable.

I claim:

1. The combination with a pressure vessel having a motion-transmitting rod passing from the interior to the exterior thereof, spaced inner and outer stufi'ing boxes on the vessel around the rod, there being a fluid receiving space between the inner and outer packings, means including a closed fluid circulating system and variable output pump for supplying fluid to said space, and means responsive to the pressure in the vessel and the pressure in the system connected with the pump and connected with said closed circuit for maintaining a controlled difference of pressure between the fluid in said vessel and the fluid in said space.

2. The combination with a pressure vessel having a motion-transmitting rod passing from the interior to the exterior thereof, spaced inner and outer stufiing boxes on the vessel around the rod, there being a fluid receiving space between the inner and outer packings, means including a closed fluid circulating system and variable output pump for supplying fluid to said space, a control mechanism responsive to pressure in the vessel and to the pressure of the fluid in the system connected with said pump and connected in said closed circuit, and means actuated by the control mechanism for varying the pum pressure so as to maintain a generally constant pressure differential between the fluid in the vessel and the fluid in said space.

3. The combination with a pressure vessel having a stufling box subjected on one side to the pressure in the pressure vessel, the other side of the stufling box being in a chamber, means including a variable output pump and a closed fluid circulating system for supplying fluid under pressure to said chamber, servo-motor means for varying the output of the pump to vary its pressure, and a differential pressure controller for actuating said servo-motor means connected with said said pump and connected in said circuit, said differential pressure controller being responsive to relative variations in the pressure in said pressure vessel and the pressure in the output of the pump, and serving to maintain a substantially constant differential in pressure between the pressure in the pressure vessel and the pressure in said chamber.

PAUL SKILLMAN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,418,951 Martin June 6, 1922 1,418,952 Martin June 6, 1922 1,681,075 Wiegert Aug. 14, 1928 2,347,751 Reeves et al May 2, 1944 2,436,514 Jennings Feb. 24, 1948 

